


blasted youth

by MissCatherineEarnshaw



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Emo Kylo Ren, F/M, Fraternities & Sororities, Friendship, Humor, Hux hates it, M/M, Multi, OT3, Pining, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-15 22:51:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5803420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCatherineEarnshaw/pseuds/MissCatherineEarnshaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>It turned out his room and Dameron's were in the same dorm, right next to each other.Dameron nudged him when they arrived in front of their respective places.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>“It's cool, we're going to be neighbours.”</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Given the trip he had just spent, Hux tended to disagree with this statement, but it could have been worse. He could have had been stuck with Dameron for roommate after all. He managed to nod amiably as he opened his own door. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hux and Poe end up with very different roommates in college. Their freshmen years turn out to be very different too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fall

**Author's Note:**

> So. If anyone had told me three weeks ago that I would write a college AU for a star wars movie, and with this pairing no less, I would have laughed.  
> But the brilliant fanworks got me, and now I'm Kylux trash, and I wanted to play around with the two of them and with my new OT3.
> 
> The action will be set in one year. There will be 4 chapters in total, each for one season, although the last one, which stands for summer, will probably be more of an epilogue.  
> Each month you will get Hux's and Poe's POV. The two of them interact from time to time, but their storyline will mainly be independent, although they mirror each other a bit.
> 
> Anyway, have a good reading, and please don't hesitate to point out if you spot any mistakes. I'm French and unbeta'ed.

_September, 5st_

 

 

Thanks to the broken vent, the temperature in the car was unbearably hot. There was a faint odour of grease in the air, and if you paid attention, you could hear crisps crunching whenever you moved your feet. Good lord.

Had he been asked, Hux would not have picked carpooling as his means of locomotion to college.

Unfortunately, his car had the misfortune to break down right the week before his moving out, and between the packing and the paperwork, he had found no time to buy another one. Given his luggages – one full suitcase and two boxes – relying on plane or train would have been impractical. This explained why he had jumped on the occasion when his mother had mentioned that the son of her friend had planned to drive there and had a free spot in his car. He didn't know at the time that someone else had already booked a seat, but he would probably still had agreed had he knew.

Which lead to him to this dreamy environment, listening distractedly to the jibber jabber of his co-passengers, which was to say the driver, named Poe Dameron, to whom Hux must have talked once or twice at high school and his long-time friend Jessika Pava, whom Hux was positive he had ignored the existence of until today.

“I'm just saying” the later one repeated probably for the thousandth time, “that they should have had us filing questionnaires in order to assign us roommate. Knowing it's going to be random feels a bit like your well being of the years relies on a lottery.”

Dameron snorted.

“Come on Jess, it's not that bad. One, even if you do end up with a bad roommate, it does not mean your year will be miserable. Second, I'm not sure filling a basic form on your personality or what you like is going to result in a perfect match. Getting along with your roommate is a bit like making friends, it may require time and effort from both sides. Do you really think there are people on this earth that are no way compatible to merely cohabit in the same room for ten months?”

“You could end up with a homophobic racist douchebag.”

“...Right.”

“I usually am”

“Not particularly subtle, but I see your point.”

That was the moment Dameron chose to ask for Hux's opinion, taking a quick glance at him.

“What's your stance on the issue, then?”

Hux managed to refrain from ordering him to focus on the road rather than asking stupid questions. They still had four hours of driving ahead on them and he didn't want to take the risk to be ditched mid-trip.

“I agree with Jessika. I would like a roommate who keeps to himself and preferably never speaks to me. I'm sure a basic form would have helped me to find such a person.”

There was a moment of silence and then Dameron and Pava burst out laughing, probably assuming he meant it as a joke. Hux checked his watched and sighed internally. Still three hour and forty-five minutes to go.

 

When they finally exited the car, two hundreds miles later, Hux couldn't help but hope this was going to be the last he saw of them. Unfortunately, they still had to make the walk across the campus and present themselves to the administration to have their keys handed out. And then, it turned out his room and Dameron's were in the same dorm, right next to each other.

Dameron nudged him when they arrived in front of their respective places.

“It's cool, we're going to be neighbours.”

Given the trip he had just spent, Hux tended to disagree with this statement, but it could have been worse. He could have had been stuck with Dameron for _roommate_ after all. He managed to nod amiably as he opened his own door.

 

To his surprise, three person were already standing in the room. The youngest, a sullen looking dark-haired teenager, was going to be his future roommate, according to all evidences. The two others were a man and woman of fifty or so, if their greyish hair were any indication. They looked more amiable – or at least the lady, who extended her hand with a gentle smile as soon as she took notice of his presence.

“Hello, you must be our son's Ben new roommate. We're very pleased to meet you.”

God the awkwardness of being introduced by his parents to a fellow college student. Hux snorted interiorly. His trip had not been particularly pleasant, but at least it had saved him the embarrassment of moving in with mum and dad. Still, he shook the hand with a gracious smile. If there was one thing that his parents had taught him well, it was manners.

“Pleased to meet you mam'.”

“Please, call me Leia. This is my husband's Han, and here is Ben, obviously.”

Han extended his hand too. Ben didn't bother.

For the next half and hour Hux and Leia chatted on his and Ben's respective major – economy and physic – the commodities of the campus, and so on, while Kylo was pretending to unpack his stuff and mumbled in acknowledgement from time to time. Hux noticed than Han was standing a bit on the side, seemingly inspecting the room and boxes, as if he wasn't sure how he was supposed to act. Oh. Daddy not often around then. Not that Hux cared or anything.

When it was time to part, Leia gave her son a hug which he returned half-heartedly, and Han an awkward pat of the shoulder. Ben only spared his father a dismissive glance.

Hux wished them a good trip and Leia thanked him with a smile, and then the two were gone, leaving only him and his new roommie.

“So, Ben, any preference for your side of the room ?”

The look that he got in return was almost murderous.

“Don't call me that.”

This certainly could have gone better, but Hux tried and went along.

“Well, what you like to be called then?”

“Kylo.”

“Is that your first name?”

“No, it's a nickname I found myself a while ago. It fits me better. My parents refuse to use it.”

Gosh, what a prime emo trash that boy was. Hux was pretty sure that, given a week or too, he would find stacks of diaries and t-shirt F*ck society scattered across the room. For one second, Dameron next door almost seemed a better option.

“Right. Kylo then. About that side of the room?”

His roommate looked threw aback at the sudden change in topic, and Hux wondered if he had a whole grand speech prepared on the subject. Maybe he did not usually deal with people who just didn't gave a shit. Either way, he shrugged and grumbled “I don't care”, before returning his attention back to his boxes. Hux took this as a cue to move his own stuff near the bed next to the window. It was all the best if Kylo did not realize _this_ was the kind of thing worth fighting for.

They spent the next hour in silence, each filing through their stuff, when a pin rolled out one of Kylo's boxes and landed on the floor. Hux picked it without thinking, then stared at it more pointedly when he realized it was a vintage pin from the fraternity of the First Order. It looked authentic. He handed it back to his roommate, who took it hurriedly. Hux was grudgingly impressed. Such items were hard to come by. Maybe he should have given the guy more credit.

“You want to be part of the fraternity?”

“Obviously. My grandfather was a member back in the 80s. The pin was his.”

Kylo would have not sounded prouder had he announced his grand father had been the first man to set foot on the moon.

“So I suppose he was around during the period of the emperor, right?”

Hux had always found the nicknames in fraternity rather vain, but it looked like an important part of the whole thing. Three decades later, nobody could remember the name of the former First Order's president, but his title had carried on the legend.

Back to the current conversation, Kylo was gaping at him.

“You know about the emperor?”

Hux shrugged. “Fraternity is kind of big deal in my family too.”

Both his older brothers and his father had been art of the fraternity, and Hux had been given a pretty thorough chat on the subject before he left. He was not going to explain that though.

His roommate looked like he was gauging him “So...if you're interested too, I guess that makes us competitors.”

He was probably aiming for playful, but all Hux heard was a nervous guy testing the water . Well he wasn't one to back down from a challenge. He smiled.

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

 

If this was what competition looked like, entering the fraternity should be easy peasy.

 

 

 

Once Poe had left his own stuff in his room and stayed at Jessika's, whose roommate had not arrived yet, f he decided to stroll around campus or a while. He knew he should have have been busy setting up the place he was going to live in for the next ten months, but after a six-hours drive he was not really enthusiastic at the idea. Plus he wanted to take a look at the surrounding while the sun was still up.

The campus was buzzing, what with all the freshmen moving in. At first, Poe tried to memorize the heads of people he passed by, but he quickly gave up – there were simply too many of them. He made a tour of the dorms, then walked around until he found where most classes took place. The buildings there were a bit more freshened than the dorms.

He noticed with interest that the building of the infamous First Order fraternity was a bit withdrawn from the rest of the campus, and set in the place with the nicest view. If you craned your head a little, then you could take a peek at the nearby ocean coast.

Thirty minutes later, he was getting near his starting point, not far from his own dorm. He strolled past a guy, just out of the administration building, and looking back and forth his small campus plan and what was surrounding him. Poe decided it was time for his good deed of the day. He turned back.

“Can I help you?”

The guy shot him a desperate glance.

“I really can't figure out where is my room.”

He handed his key to Poe, who looked at the number and grinned.

“Looks like we’re going to be roommies buddy.”

The relief that transpired in his fellow student's face was so obvious it was kind of funny.

“Great. Would you mind pointing me where it is?”

“I'm going to do better. I'm going to escort you there.” Poe answered, grabbing one of his new roommate's bag. He looked like he could do with a little help. He followed Poe's lead without any protestation.

“You're awesome, thank you. I hope I'm not keeping you from anything.”

“It's no bother, I was just exploring the surroundings little.”

“Is it nice?”

Poe shrugged. “Well, it's a campus. Nothing particularly repelling, but nothing particularly interesting either. Except for the coast view.”

“I tend to forget how close we are to the ocean now. It's a bit of a change for me.”

'Where did you live ?

“Dallas.”

“Did you like it?”

He new roommate shrugged non committally.

“Not so bad I guess.”

They had reached their building dorm, and Poe took a moment to point out all the features of interest – where lived the guardian, where could you wash and so on. When they got to their room, he made a flourish as he opened the door.

“Welcome to your place, mister whose name I've forgotten to ask.”

“Thank you my good man. And I'm Finn.” grinned the guy – or well, Finn. “Yours ?”

“Poe.”

They walked into the room and let all Finn's – kinda heavy- stuff fall to the ground. Finn's expression was one of bliss.

“I've been carrying this crap for seven hours now, I can't take it any more.”

“I see what you mean.” Poe nodded, looking at where he had got rid of his luggage and boxes in one corner of the room.

“I'm really not in the mood to tidy or organize anything right now.” Finn suddenly declared. “I think a small excursion is in order.”

Poe stared at him, not sure he understood.

“Do you want me to give you a tour across the campus?”

“No, not the campus. I think we should go to the ocean instead.”

Finn must had noticed Poe's bewildered expression, given the way he frowned and asked “Why, is it too far from here?”

“A thirty minute drive, at worse. But the night is going to fall soon.”

“Do you know how to swim?”

“Yes.”

“Well in that case, what's the worse that could happen?”

Poe couldn't help but laugh. He nodded, then proceeded to open back the door and gesture at Finn to go and lead the way.

This year was going to be fun.

 

 

 

_October, 11 th_

 

 

Turned out Hux had been right on cue when it came to Ben Solo – or well, Kylo, as he liked to be called. At first, he had made a point of calling his roommate Ben whenever he was proving to be unnerving. Then he discovered the multiple ways in which Kylo could be petty when he wanted to piss someone off and decided the game wasn't worth it. Anyway, Kylo did have a large number of shirts expressing in various terms his hatred of the world surrounding him. There was no sign of a diary for the moment, but that didn't mean it didn't exist. But all of this seemed anecdotal compared to the fact that Kylo Ren was short-tempered. And that was putting it lightly. Whenever the boy faced the slightest inconvenience, let it be a bad grade or what he interpreted as a mocking glance from someone, he threw huge fits that mostly lead into him trashing methodically his stuff. He mostly spared Hux's – except for the times the grudge was against him – but still, coming back from class to find half the room in total disarray started to get really annoying really quick.

 

And then, as if _this_ was not painful enough, the two of them had to go through the whole fraternity rushing process together. Which meant they had to spend plenty of times together at events, let it be for parties at ungodly hour in the night or informal gathering on the campus during daytime – although alcohol was more or less involved each time. For some reason, they always ended up together when they had to group in pair or team for challenges, whose the First Order was very fond of. Hux had to admit their skills completed one another – he was excellent at mind games, whereas Kylo turned out surprisingly good, given his corpulence, at more physical test, but it did not mean in the least that teaming together was agreeable There was a lot of more of shouting and crude hands gesture than should have been necessary.

 

Today, according to all clues and information they had managed to collect during these few weeks, was the day they were supposed to get their bid. On the one hand, Hux wanted desperately to be in. There was something exhilarating in being part of something that had run through decades, prior to his very existence, and to have the opportunity to put his stamp on it – which he definitely intended to. On the other hand, if he was chosen as a pledge and so was Kylo, they were in a for a long ride together. Obviously a win-win situation was him getting in and his roommate being rejected, but somehow, he didn't see that happening.

 

He should have been able to focus on his due tomorrow econ essay rather than to ponder on that, but he couldn't help it. He checked the clock every two seconds, kept twisting his head to see if there wasn't anything slipped under the door. He almost had a heart attack when Kylo suddenly opened the door and barged in. He may or may not have jumped from his chair a little.

“Nervous much?” his roommate smirked. “Looking for this?”

As he spoke, he exhibited a red flat carton, whose exhibited the name _Hux_ written in cursive. The read-headed was on his feet the next second to grab it from his hand.

“Have you been hiding it from me all day long?” he asked Kylo in a suspicious tone once he had recovered the precious sesame. His roommate, as per usual, glared.

“There is a such a thing as _too_ paranoid Hux. I didn't keep it from you, it was right at the threshold. Maybe you couldn't see it from where you were seating.”

Hux didn't bother to apologize and instead nodded curtly. Now that the exhilaration of the moment had a bit faded, another worry crawled at the back of his mind.

“What about you?” he asked, gesturing vaguely in his roommate's direction.

“Don't worry for me.” Kylo smirked, and god that was not not good. “I got mine too.”

Sure enough, he drew from his pocket a carton in all point identical, save for the name. Hux grinded his teeth. He was sure Kylo had not taken the news as coolly as it seemed right now – he had probably fumed a bit behind the door, before calming down enough to give its bid to Hux and enjoy the look of despair on his face as he realized they were both in this.

 

Well. He had spared the furniture this time. And no matter what, Hux had at least the absolute assurance they had nor would share no class whatsoever. Maybe he could survive this year.

 

 

 

Surprisingly, Poe didn't meet Rey until one good month in the semester. Surprisingly, because given that she turned out to be Jessika's roommate _and_ Finn's partner for most of his classes - he supposes they should have been acquainted earlier.

 

Point was, he had to wait the second week of October, as he came back from a particularly exhausting mathematics class, to discover Finn sprawled in his bed, caught up in what looked like an engrossing conversation with a girl Poe had never seen before. She was the first to notice his arrival and immediately sprung out from her position on the floor.

“Hello, you're Poe, right? I hope you don't mind me being here, my room is kinda a no go zone, so Finn offered me to stay here.”

“It's no problem.” Poe grinned, gesturing her to get on on a seat. “Always nice to have visitors.”

“Thanks.” the girl answered with a smile. “I'm Rey, by the way.”

Finn had not said a word since a while, which was highly unusual – Poe realized with a start his roommie was standing still on the bed, looking like he was gauging their meeting. It was then he finally connected the dot.

“Oh, you're _Rey._ ”

“Has Finn been talking about me?” she asked, sounding inexplicably pleased. Well, who was he kidding, anyone should be flattered to be mentioned by Finn. Finn who at this moment looked frankly embarrassed, if the way he was trying to hide behind his pillow was anything to go by.

“A bit.”

A fair share actually, but Finn might have minded him saying so. Plus he was curious about what Rey had said earlier.

“What's the deal with your roommie then? Having a spat or something?”

“No, nothing of the sort. Jessika is adorable. She just brought a boy, that's all.”

From what Finn had told Poe on Rey, she lived in their dorm. And there was only one Jessika there. He blinked in surprise.

“Wait, you live with Jessika Pava?”

“Yes.” she replies brightly, “she is really great. Finn told me she's good friends with you too.”

“Oh yes, we've grown up in the same neighbourhood. I can't believe you're her roommate. Finn, why did you not tell me your Rey was Jessikas's roommate?”

Finn's reaction was interesting – he scratched his neck and stared at the floor, as if the fake parquet was the most riveting he had ever seen.

“She is not _my_ Rey. And I did not make the connection. I'm not as close as Jessika as you are after all.”

Poe wondered if he should do the old “were you hiding her from me” routine, but quickly decided against it. If Finn was really into her, then he didn't want to embarrass him further. He decided to let that drop too, for the moment anyway. Besides, there was something else he wanted to clear up.

“I must say I'm a bit surprised about what you just told me Rey. Jessika never mentioned to me she had found someone of interest.”

“Why, she usually tells you that?” Finn asked, sounding more like his usual self. He had always been a been puzzled by the nature of his and Jessika's relationship. Poe shrugged.

“Our bond is fuelled by gossip, among other things. And our primary topic of gossip has always been us.”

“She never mentioned it to me either, if that can reassure you.” Rey smiled, apparently amused by the whole thing. He contorted his face, feigning utter agony.

“It won't, but thank you for trying to quell my anguish.”

Rey laughed, a bright, wonderful sound – and yeah, Poe was beginning to see what Finn saw in her. He positioned himself so he could prop his back against the head of his roommate's bed, and face the two at the same time.

His messenger bag full of notes and homework was lying a few feet away, abandoned. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to care for the moment.

 

 

 

_November, 1 th_

 

 

The morning after the Halloween Frat Party was quite painful for Hux. He had not realized he had drunk that much, but right now, as his head was throbbing and his mouth feeling like death, he was ready to admit he might have overdid it. He had been awoken at 8 am by the morning light, which meant he had slept five hours at best. At the time he had thought a cup of tea would be good, and had found to strength to drag himself from his bed to prepare one. The effort had only made him more nauseous than ever, which explained his current position – his head lying on the kitchen counter and staring at his cuppa, enjoying the feel of cool on his cheek.

Which was why it was all the more insufferable to hear Kylo shuffle around as if he the bastard had had a most satisfying rest – and given that they had been at the same party, Hux knew for a fact he had not.

He eventually grumbled “For fuck sake, could you tone it down a little? My head is killing me.”

The bastard had the nerve to _chuckle_.

“I would not have pegged you for the kind of guy who can't hold his liquor.”

Truth is, Hux wouldn't have either. It was a bit embarrassing to admit he was no match for his roommate. He didn't bother to answer, choosing instead to focus on his lukewarm cup of tea, hoping it would help him get rid of the awful taste in his mouth.

After five minutes of what sounded like pointed and useless stuff moving, Kylo suddenly came next to Hux and stared at him.

“Are you alright?”

His tone was unexpectedly gentle as he knelt next to him, peering at him worriedly. Hux resisted the urge to flip him off.

“I've just told you my head was killing me.”

“I didn't realize it was that bad.”

Hux didn't bother to answer, preferring instead to groan and roll his head the other way.

“You know you're going to hurt your neck if you stay in this position for too long.”

“Why do _you_ care?”

“It will make me even more insufferable, and I do not need that. Come here.”

Before Hux could realize what was happening to him. Kylo had taken him under his arm and carried back to his bed. He then proceeded to tuck him under the blanket. Hux could have sworn he felt a light brush to his hair when his head was finally propped on a pillow. What the heck was going on, he had no idea.

When he woke up several hours after, feeling a bit freshened up, there was a glass of water on his night-stand and Kylo was nowhere in sight.

Neither of them dared to mention the episode when he finally came back.

 

 

Truth was, Poe was feeling pretty good on that fine November morning. Well, maybe a bit under the weather after a night spent at running from party to party with Finn and Rey, but nothing a nice stroll in the crisp fresh air would not fix. If only he could get hold of his jacket.

The damn thing was nowhere in sight, and it was beginning to slightly worry him. It was his favourite clothe, and the perfect asset for a chilly morning like this one. It would truly be a shame if it had got lost during their parties marathon.

He was pondering on whether he would dare to wake up Finn to ask him if he had any clue, when he realized he recognized the sleeve that was sticking out of his roommate's blanket.

He shook the bed without any remorse. Finn woke up with a start.

“What the hell Poe?”

“Why are you sleeping with my jacket on?”

“You gave it to me last night, remember? Afraid I was gonna get sick or something .”

Now that Poe was thinking about it, he remembered noticing the way Finn had not bothered to grab anything warm and handing him his jacket when he started shivering. He even remembered Rey's seemingly offhand comment “How very boyfriend-y of you, Poe”.

He shrugged apologetically.

“I do yeah. Sorry to have jumped on you like that.”

Finn smiled. Another thing to ad to the endless list of what Poe loved about his roommate – he was never pissed for long.

“It's fine. I can give it back if you want.”

“No, you should keep it for now.” Poe grinned. “It suits you.”

He could not explain why, but the idea Finn wearing something that was _his_ pleased him _._ Plus he had to admit the jacket looked good on him. His roommate rested his head back on his pillow.

“I hope you were not planning to go outside.” he muttered, his eyes on the verge of closing.

“Don't worry, I changed my plan.” Poe answered, exiting the room with a last wink.

He had had a better idea. Instead of a morning walk, he was going to wake up Snap. The guy lived two doors from here, and Poe was pretty sure he was the one responsible for the three vodka shots in a row that had occurred at some point during the night.

 

 


	2. Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter took quicker than expected, it never happens.  
> This chapter features : more oblivious Hux – people going outdoors – amazing bro Phasma – and many other surprises.  
> Hope you will enjoy it. Thanks for your kudos & comments, it means a lot.

_December 22th_

 

 

Just like Poe's, Rey's and Jessikas's dorm was bustling with excitement on that first evening of the holiday. Managing to cross the hallways with his suitcase without crunching anyone's feet was already a feat in itself. As he finally reached their door, he stopped one moment to listen.

He could faintly hear the sound of a conversation between Finn and Rey . All clear then. He couldn't help but feel relief.

He knew deep down than the fear of facing inappropriate PDA was not the only reason he was afraid of catching them on the act, but he refused to ponder on that. He opened the door suddenly, startling Finn a bit and prompting a large grin on Rey's face.

“All set on leaving?” she asked brightly. Poe put down his luggage and shrugged.

“Well, if Jessika shows up in time, we should leave in half an hour or so.”

Rey took a glance at the utter disaster that was her roommate's suitcase and grinned. “I'm sure she will turn up soon. Is it just the two of you going?”

“No, Hux is coming with us too.”

Finn frowned.

“Are you two close? I'm not sure I've ever seen you speak to him for more than one minute at a time.”

“Not especially, but he lives not far from home and he needs a ride.”

“I'm positive I don't know who you're talking about.” Rey interjected, looking a bit at loss. Finn shot her a disbelieving glance.

“Sure you do. He is Poe and I's roommate. And he is in our anthropology class”

“Still doesn’t ring a bell.”

“The ginger one with a stick up his ass.”

“ _Finn!_ ”

“Well, honestly, it kinda is the best way the describe him.” Poe piped in with a smile. Rey looked offended.

“I can't believe how mean the two of you are.”

“One day you'll find yourself stared down by the man and you will understand why we don't feel particularly bad describing him this way...”

Poe paused when he realized Rey was not listening to him any more. She was too busy elbowing Finn and making weird faces.

“What are you doing Rey?”

“Honestly Rey, you're not subtle at all.” Finn mumbled, as he pulled from behind his back a thick envelop with a golden ribbon on it.

“We've got you a Christmas present!” She exclaimed triumphantly.

Poe looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Did the two of you got me a joint gift?”

Rey shrugged like it was no big deal. “We weren't able to come up with more than one good idea.”

Besides the season greetings card, there was an official looking print paper. Poe read it quickly once and then read it again, dumbfounded. It was a coupon for a one-hour flight in June. Rey and Finn began to chat excitedly at the same time.

“We looked it up, it's only one half-hour drive with your car...”

“We know it's in a long time, but there were months of delay and we were assured summer was the best period for that anyway....”

Poe rose his hands, which had the merit of shutting them up long enough for him to speak.

“Guys, guy slow down. Your gift is the best I could have asked for. It's wonderful. Thank you so much.”

One small, despicable part of his brain could not help but think that they had thought of this gift _together_ , as a couple, because it was obvious that was what they were, even if they didn't knew it yet, and he hated himself for it.

“I kinda feel bad now.” he muttered, thinking back to the two packages resting in his suitcase.

“What, you haven't got us anything?”

“No, I did, it's just –it's gonna look miserable compared to yours.”

“I'm sure it won't.” Rey answered with a smile, and Finn began to drum excitedly on the nearest chair, which meant Poe had no chance but to go get his presents.

He had bought a vintage vinyl reader for Finn . It was kind of an inside joke between the two of them – Finn liked to listen to vinyl, claimed it was the only way to listen to music properly, but if he had brought some from home with him, his reader had been too heavy for transportation. He had bought Rey a small guide on America's natural reserve. Rey life dream was to visit all of them before she turned thirty. Poe had feared a bit she would take it as a taunt, but her bright grin as she leafed through the book told him otherwise.

“This is awesome Poe, thank you.” she declared excitedly.

“Yeah Poe, great idea.” added Finn, a huge grin on his face.. “Although I've got to warn, you will never be able to escape my music from now on.”

Poe looked at the package lying on the floor and realized something.

“You haven't got each other anything?”

“Well, we were both a little tight on budget.” Rey shrugged, as if this was not a big deal, as if this wasn’t an other way to say _we blew all our money on your gift_. Poe's hurt clenched painfully. “So we merely promised we would buy each other chocolate during the holidays.”

Rey and Finn had discovered a while ago that their families actually lived quite close, in a radius of twenty kilometre. They had immediately made the promise to visit each other at least once during the break.

“I'm going to miss you guys.” Poe mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed to voice it.

“We'll miss you too.” they replied as a unit.

They scurried next to him: the next second, he was caught in a collective hug. Poe allowed himself to relax in the embrace, his head on Finn's neck and Jessikas's hair ticking his ear.

“Aren't you the cutest.” a voice that sounded exactly like Jessikas's suddenly declared. She had probably entered the room at some point during their conversation without them noticing. Poe immediately broke free from the embrace. Jessika made enough subtle jabs on the subject as it was.

“How long have been here?”

“Two minutes at best. And I know, it looks like I'm late, but I only need fifteen minutes or so to finish packing.”

Poe shrugged. “If you say so.” He couldn't help but glance pointedly at the bundle of clothes still on the floor. Jessika noticed, if the way she huffed and began to shove what was left in her suitcase was anything to go buy.

“Are we supposed to pick the ginger one on the way?”

“He told me it would be easier if we met on the parking lot, next to my car.”

Jessika snorted, her head still in his luggage.

“He probably doesn't want to spend more time with us than necessary.”

Finn turned to shoot a Rey a pointed glance, something along the line of _I_ _told_ _you_ _we were not_ _exaggerating._ Poe let out a quiet laugh.

For the first time in his life, he was glad the Christmas break only lasted two week.

 

 

 

Somehow, Hux ended up in the exact same position as three months earlier. Turned out having your own car when you barely moved out of the campus was kind of a useless expanse, and so Hux didn't bother to purchase one. And then, the week before the start of the holidays, he had run across Dameron in their dorm, who had asked him if he had planned how he was going to go home, and offered him a seat in his car if not. Hux had surprised himself by saying it was a great idea. Somehow, the memory of the previous trip had faded, and in the frenzy of mid-term, the mere idea of buying a plane or a train ticket was already a hassle.

At the moment, as the second 80s mix-tape had started and Pava was singing aloud enthusiastically., he was questioning his life choices.

The buzzing of his phone distracted him from this train of thought. He frowned when he realized the text he got was from Kylo. They had not been gone an hour yet. What could his roommate possibly want from him?

 

 _Your forgot your_ _phone_ _charge_ _r_ _moron_

 

Hux checked his bag, just in case, and sure enough, the white device was nowhere in sight. He answered to Kylo with a sigh, bracing himself for further insults.

 

_**Crap :(** _

 

_Want me send it to you maybe?_

 

Well, that was certainly unexpected. Hux hesitated a bit before texting back.

 

_**Nah don't bother, I'll buy another one.** _

 

_**You're being surprisingly thoughtful today. Is the Christmas' cheer getting to you?** _

 

He got a string of angry texts as a result.

 

_NO_

 

_But I feared you would have resented me fort it_

 

_Accused me of kidnapping it or something_

 

That definitely sounded more like Kylo. Hux held back a snort as he typed back his answer.

 

_**Right. Thanks for the heads up anyway** _

 

_You're welcome._

 

This exchange was surprisingly friendly. He wondered if he should push his luck. He wrote something, pondered for a moment whether he should go for it, before finally brushing the button send.

 

_**Wish you happy holidays** _

 

_You too._

 

It was only as he read this last text that he realized Poe had been saying his name – nor for the first time, if the tone of his voice was anything to go buy.

“Sorry, you were saying?”

“Let him be Poe, I think he's texting his special someone.”

This definitely got a reaction out of Hux.  “Why would you say that?”

“You should have seen the way you were grinning at your phone”

“It's only my roommate.”

Poe made a sound of interest at that.

“I'm not sure I have ever talked to him, who is he again?”

“Kylo Ren”

This was an opportunity to deflect the conversation's course, so Hux took it.

“Yours is Finn right?”

“Yeah, he is.”

The grin Poe gave as he spoke was blinding. Mmph. If there had to be a besotted fool in the car, Hux was pretty sure it wasn't him. Well, this would prove a useful diversion if nothing else.

“I kinda know him. He is in my anthropology class, along with her friend - Rey, is it?”

“Yeah, they've mentioned it.”

Hux did not understand how his name could have possibly popped up in a conversation between the three of them, but he let it slide to focus on another point of interest.

“The two of them seem pretty close. Are they dating?”

There was a moment of awkward silence in the car, and Jessika turned around to smack Hux on the shoulder.

“Don't bring this up, it will bum down our dear Poe.”

“Jessika, you're only embarrassing me further.”

“Please, you know it's true.”

“Do you want to talk about Snap?”

That shut Jessika up. From what Hux knew, Snap was just an average looking but easy going guy, who had a lot a friend around the campus and happened to be part of the football team. It looked like he was a bit more for Jessika. For a moment, he wondered if he should try to have a better access to the gossip spreading across the dorms, but well. There was a reason he didn't pay attention to them in the first place, and the reason was that it was boring as hell.

One thing was sure – Poe's remark considerably abated the atmosphere in the car for the next hour, and for that at least, Hux was immensely grateful.

He was definitely going to choose a better means of accommodation the next time.

 

 

 

 _January_ _27_ _th_

 

 

It was a rather chilly evening to run on the stadium and do push ups, but Poe had been promising Snap he would train with him for ages, and tonight he had not been able to cut it out. Snap was part of the college's football team which meant Poe, who had quit after high school, was not in his league _at all_ , but he still wanted to stay fit in case he ended up trying to join the army. Although he was a bit cautious about the whole thing, he knew it was easier to become a pilot in the military than in the civil life.

Right now, as he was on the verge of dying after fifteen minutes of exercising, he was doubting it was a good idea. Snap noticed his erratic breathing and punched him good naturedly

“You've gone a bit soft Poe. I told you you should train more often.”

“Not everyone has your muscles of steel Snap.”

“It's all in the head, and you know it.”

“You sound like every corny coach sport ever, you know that?”

He got elbowed in the ribs as a retribution.

 

“So, you still have not figured out the mystery of your neighbours' racket?” Snap enquired casually after a particularly nasty round of push up.

Poe was familiar of the _if you have a neighbour then it always sounds like_ _t_ _he_ _y're_ _refurnishing_ _their_ _entire place and / or killing someone and getting rid of_ _a_ _body_ theory, but he was positive he was not inventing the very suspicious noises he kept hearing next door – loud thumps, screeching, glass smashing. He had mentioned it to Snap a while ago, who had been profoundly amused by the whole thing and liked to bring up the subject from time to time.

“I'm afraid not.” he managed to huff once he had caught his breath. Snap waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Maybe they're into some sort of kinky sex.”

Hux looked so put together, it was hard to picture him having kinky sex. He told Snap so, who laughed and shook his head.

“Beware the quiet ones, that's what I always say.”

“Speaking of kinky sex...did anyone caught your eyes lately?” Poe asked with a smile, wincing inwardly at the transition. He was not sure why he was broaching the topic all. It looked like his curiosity had got the better of him. He usually tried not to talk about this with Snap, knowing Jessika would hate the idea of him fishing for information.

It was incredible to see how hard she had fallen for him. In their ten years of friendship, Poe was quite sure he had never her seen her pine for somebody this way. Had it been anyone else, Poe would have been suspicious of a guy seemingly unable to notice the way she found excuse to spend time with him and laughed good-heartily at all his jokes, even the bad ones. But it was Snap they were talking about – adorable Snap, who made a point to be nice to everyone and cared deeply for those who got close to him. He wasn't leading her on, merely oblivious to a fault.

“Not really no.” he answered with a shrug, bringing back Poe to the present. “What about you?”

There was no way in hell Poe was going to try and explain the current predicament he was in to Snap, so he shook his head.

“Aren't you and Jessika...?” Snap asked quietly his voice trailing a bit. “You know.”

Poe could not believe what he was hearing. He shot Snap an incredulous glance.

“No. I mean, we're friends, but we don't hook up or anything. It's never been like that.”

The mortification on Snap's face was priceless.

“Well, I figured, a girl like her had to have somebody. So I thought the reason I didn't see her settle with anyone was because she already got something with you.” he mumbled, biting his lip in embarrassment. Poe clasped him on the shoulder encouragingly.

“I can assure you that's not the reason. She is not involved with me. Or with anyone for that matter _.”_

 _Way to be smooth_ thought Poe absent mindedly, but the way Snap's eyes brightened was worth it.

Maybe something good would come out of this night. Or at least, something better than the numerous cramps Poe was positive he would be suffering from the next morning.

 

 

 

The first fraternity party of the year was a blast. And Hux wasn't saying that merely because he had contributed to it.

 

Him and Kylo had been approached by senior member of the First Order the week they came back from the Christmas' break. Apparently, the two of them had captured Snoke's attention for some reason, and the Supreme Leader wanted them to give a hand for the preparations of the January party. Hux had been thrilled at the proposition, then a bit dampened when he had realized it had to be him _and_ his roommate. But really, this wasn't the kind of offer he could have afforded to refuse anyway.

The first Order was known for his quick rushing– one month top – and his deliberately long pledging who went on for the rest of the year. Only sophomore and senior could claim full membership. A quick slip was all it took for you to be out during these treacherous months. That also meant you had to take any opportunity to be noticed and deemed valuable.

And so him and Kylo had spent the following two weeks working with the seniors to help them organize the whole thing – which included negotiating with the administration, buying the liquor, to ensuring there would be a proper DJ and so on. Hux had enjoyed every minute of it, even the ones he had spend telling Kylo to shut up and do as he was told.

 

Now, as the music was blasting through the radio and a crowd of excited people was downing shots and dancing, preferably at the same time, Hux could appreciate his success.

He spotted Kylo leaning against the wall, appraising the room in the exact same position. He suddenly turned his head and caught Hux's eyes. Instead of frowning and looking the other way, as would have been expected, his roommate walked to him and mumbled something in his ear. Over the thumps of the music and the excited shouts, Hux couldn't hear two word of what he was saying. Rather than having Kylo repeat it, he mouthed _I can't hear you_ and gestured towards the nearest empty room, which was the kitchen. Kylo nodded and lead the way. He waited until they were both in and the door shut to repeat in a satisfied tone “I was just saying, it's a rather nice party _General_.”

Hux snorted. They had recently been given nicknames, and rather pompous ones at taht – Kylo was _Lord Sith_ \- but calling each other this way when it was the two of them was plain weird.

“Rather nice indeed.” he nodded, allowing a small smile to tug at this mouth. Kylo smiled back, grabbing two clean paper cut and handing one to Hux

“Celebratory drinks?”

 _Why the hell no_ t thought Hux, perusing at the numerous bottles left on the counter. He glanced at Kylo, gesturing towards his empty cup.

“What do you want?”

“Jagerbomb.”

Hux snorted, but executed the order anyway.

“What's wrong with Jagerbomb ?” Kylo asked defiantly once he got the cup in his hand. Hux shrugged

“Nothing. Just not my liquor of choice that's all.”

“What would be your _liquor of choice_ then ?” Kylo, imaginary quotation marks clear in his voice.

“Not the kind you would serve in this party.”

“I should have known you were the sort of posh asshole who only drunk expansive champaign and 30 years scotch. That's probably why you can't hold your liquor very well, you know. ”

“I'm not a posh asshole. And my resistance to alcohol is perfectly satisfying very much.”

Kylo stared at him, and Hux knew he was remembering the Halloween party.

“If you're that confident, maybe we should do a little alcohol contest.”

It was a bad idea for more reasons than Hux could account for, but his first drinks had made him tipsy enough to make it worth considering.

“Alright. But not with Jagerbomb.”

He managed to find the most expensive tequila kept on the shelf. That should do. He poured into both of their cups and rose his head to realize Kylo had picked salt and citrus.

“Tequila should be drunk properly.” he declared, and Hux rose his cup at that. They both poured some salt on their skin and licked it.

They downed their first shot and bit their lemon at the same time.

After five more drinks, the process was beginning to be a little more hazy. Hux was pretty sure he had mixed up the order a bit.

“This is nice. Why can't be we like this all the time?” he asked as his roommate as they were both leaning on the counter, sitting far more closer than they would have been comfortable with normally. His voice was only slurring a tiny bit. Kylo scoffed and shook his head.

“First, this is is the alcohol talking. Second, out of the two of us, _you're_ the nasty one.”

“I'm not the one who trashes his stuff every two days and sulks for hours.”

“For god's sake, I like you Hux, but you shouldn't open your mouth. You're always saying mean things when you speak.”

Hux was ready to ask what he did like in him then when he noticed the way Kylo's eyes kept dropping at his mouth. Oh. Interesting. He shuffled his chair closer, so he was practically in his roommate's lap.

“Maybe you should make me shut my mouth then.”

He was not really expecting Kylo to raise to the bait but the next second his roommate was leaning in and kissing him. To his surprise Hux found himself answering enthusiastically, opening his mouth and allowing Kylo's tongue access. As he nibbled on Kylo's lower lip, his roommate produced a low noise Hux couldn't help but find arousing. He bit harder, cupping Kylo's head with his right hand. He would thoroughly be enjoying himself weren't it for the counter digging in his ribs. The problem was that Kylo was melting against him Hux realized absent mindedly. That would not do at all. He had always found his roommate's haircut ridiculous, but right now he was grateful to have something to grab, so he could shove him and pin against the wall instead.

And then there was the clatter of glass, and they immediately jumped apart from each other. Some idiot – a recent pledge whose Hux had never bothered to remember the name – had entered the kitchen and made a bottle fall.

“Oups. Sorry I bothered ya'”

The intruder didn't sound sorry _at all_ , but before either of them had the time to protest or to immobilize the threat, he had already fled back to the party.

They stood still for a while, silently gauging each other.

Hux was drunk enough to enjoy the sight of Kylo's flushed face and swollen lips, all thanks to him, but not enough to resume what they were doing, now that the mood was broken. He was not sure he understood how it had happened in the first place.

“I think I'm going to clean up a little.” he eventually said, gesturing vaguely to the shatter of glass, if only to break the uncomfortable silence. Kylo nodded jerkily.

“Good. I probably should get back to the party.”

“Right.”

Kylo stared at him one last time before exiting the room. Hux watched him leave, wondering why it felt so wrong.

The feel of broken glass under his feet brought him back to reality. He moved carefully in order to retrieve the small broom he knew was hidden behind the fridge.

As he swept the shreds of glass away, he thought back of fingers gently brushing his hair as he went back to bed that morning in November, of texts sent before the holiday, and wondered if this kiss was one more thing they would slip under the rug and never mention again.

 

 

 

_February 15th_

 

 

It was a cold but sunny Sunday afternoon, the kind you would have rather spent outside rather than cramming at the college library. Unfortunately, this what exactly what Hux and Phasma had planned on doing, and so far they had not been very effective. Usually they were able to focus on whatever they were reading or writing and to keep their mouths shut, but for some reason most of the past half and hour had been wasted in idle chatter.

“How was your Valentine's day?” Phasma asked at some point, and wow, they really had reached the bottom here. Hux shrugged.

“Uneventful. Why are you asking? You know I'm not dating anyone.”

“Right. No special plan with a certain Kylo Ren then?”

Her tone was deadly serious, but the slight turn of her mouth betrayed her.

Hux glared at her full force.

“Someone told you what happened at the last frat party.”

“Let's say I heard it through the grapevine.”

Obviously. Every single Phasma's brother had been part of The First Order. Today still, she was friend with half of the fraternity. Hux had asked her, once, if she was frustrated by the fact she was not allowed in. She had shrugged and answered she didn't really care now. Hux had no idea how sincere she was. Back to the point, it was the first time he regretted her connection to the fraternity.

“Who rat on us?”

“Do you seriously think I'm going to tell you?”

“Why not? I thought we were friends.”

Phasma smirked.

“Don't try to manipulate me Hux, doesn't work. I know you and Kylo would kill him in his sleep.”

“I can do that on my own thank you very much.” he answered icily, hoping she would drop the matter. Obviously, he had no such luck.

“To be honest, I don't understand why it bothers you so much. Drunken hookups happen, it's no big deal.” She paused a bit then asked in a quiet tone. “Is this because he is a boy ?”

No, it wasn't even that. Hux was not in the habit to freak over his sexual orientation nor give a fuck about what others thought of it. He might have had it proved bothersome in the fraternity, but despite his preconceived opinion, they were gay guys in the First Order and nobody gave them shit them for that.

“No, it's not it.”

“Well, what is it then?”

When Phasma stared at you this way, her whole attention focused on you, it felt like you had no other choice but to confess. Kylo sometimes gave that impression too, and oh god why was he thinking of the bastard _again_.

“It's just that....I am afraid that if someone mentions it, we'll be forced to talk about what happened.”

“Because you've never brought it up.”

“...no”

“You're a big wuss.”

“Do not insult me.”

“Come on Hux, you're being ridiculous. Afraid you're going to end up talking _feelings_ with your roommie?”

He scrunched her feet. He knew he was being childish, but he didn't really care at this point. She rose a _how dare you_ eyebrow then proceeded to turn his wrist. It was painful at fuck, which meant he had to retaliate by kicking her.

Obviously, it was the moment Kylo Ren chose to cross their section of the library. Right in the middle of a glorified leg fight. As if he had a special gift or something.

For a second, Hux hoped he had not spotted them, but the way his rommate's eyes were zeroed on their table told him otherwise.

“Hello. I hope I'm not bothering you or anything.”

Hux disentangled his legs from Phasma's after one last kick and answered briskly.  “It's fine. What do you want?”

“There is a fraternity meeting at nine tonight. I thought you would like to know.”

“You could have waited until I came back to tell me.”

Kylo smirked.

“Well, you seemed rather busy. I was not sure if you intended to pass by our room.”

Usually Hux had the upper hand in their exchange. It looked like his roommate was enjoying the turn up a little too much. He nodded stiffly.

“Right. Duly noted. Thank you for telling me.”

“You're welcome. I suppose I will leave the two of you to it. Whatever it is.”

Before Hux had the time to come up with a biting retort, Kylo was already striding away.

“So much unresolved sexual tension between the two of you.” Phasma deadpanned, and in that awful moment Hux was quite unable to tell if she was being sarcastic or not. He flipped her off anyway.

 

When Hux came back from the library, after two more hours of almost serious studying, he had the pleasure to find his wardrobe burst open, clothes spilling on the floor. Kylo was sprawled on his bed, seemingly reading Hux's own book _The_ _Art of war_ by Suntzu. He could tell his roommate was spying him from the corner of the eye. He took a deep long breath.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked calmly, gesturing to the mess. Kylo shrugged.

“Don't know what you're talking about.”

Hux huffed, then proceeded to focus on getting his books out of his bag. Just staring at their cover would me more productive than this conversation. He had emptied his bag when Kylo spoke again.

“Do you like Phasma?”

Hux ticked a bit at the abrupt conversation change, before pondering on the question asked. Even when she pissed him off, he enjoyed her presence a great deal – her mind was sharp-steel and her humour dry and biting . It was not the kind of thing he felt able to tell Kylo though, so he merely shrugged “She is alright I guess.”

Kylo eye's narrowed dangerously.

“Have you slept with her then?”

The question threw him aback, especially coming from Kylo. Hux had always known his roommate to be prude, refusing to indulge on sex talk. Even now, as he said the words, a faint blush was colouring his cheek.

“Why are you asking? Jealous much?”

He expected to get a small raise out of Kylo, maybe embarrass him a little, but not the way his lips curled in disgust.

“Please, I don't care. Just wondering if your taste in woman was that terrible.”

“Leave her out of your bullshit.”

Had she been there Phasma would have scoffed at Hux's attempt at being protective – she could knock out Kylo flat, let it be verbally or physically without a strain – but he wanted to show his roommate he had crossed a line. Their usual back and forth was a thing, but _this_ was off limit.

Kylo's only response was to snort inelegantly and mutter an insult as he turned his back to him.

 _You're not to allowed to k_ _ill your roommate_ repeated a small back at the back of Hux's head as he watched him burying his head back in his book.

At least Kylo had had the decency to wait until they were alone to deliver his low blow. Although one good thing would have came out of Phasma hearing this exchange – it would have deluded her for good of all silly notions she seemed to entertain when it came to his relationship with Kylo.

 

 

 

Chicago was beautiful on this nice February afternoon. It was the first time Rey and Finn visited the city, and Poe, who had been there a couple of times with his parents, was happy to show them around. The rivers bordering the town were glistening in the sun, the greenery radiant. It was not as lively as it could was have been though. There were some tourists on the docks, and the Lincoln park was buzzing with excitement, full with loud and noisy families, but most streets were quiet, with only a bystander there and there. The Museum of Contemporary Arts was the worst. Every step they took seemed to result in a loud sound echoing through the eerily silent corridors.

“Hey guys, remember why we decided to organize this day trip on a Sunday ?” Finn whispered as they passed by yet another empty room. Rey was the one to answer, her voice so low Poe had to prick up his ear to hear her.

“We didn't want either of us to bail if they had a plan on valentine's day.”

“Turned out we we were safe on this one.” Finn answered, laughing good naturedly. He sounded like he doesn't really care.

“What with Jessika finally going out with Snap and all the other girls talking about their date, it kinda felt like I was the only one in the dorm with no romantic prospects for the day .” Rey added. It didn't seem to bother all that much either. Her tone was chirpier as she went on. “I've got to be honest Poe, I was surprised no one asked you out.”

Actually there was one guy, with whom Poe shared several classes, who had been interested. His name was Max or something. Poe had politely declined. He had not planned o, explaining this to his friends though.

“Even if I had been asked out, there is no one else I would have rather spent my valentine's day with than the two of you.”

It was sappy but not as pathetic as _To be honest I'm already super glad the two of you didn't go on a date and leave me alone,_ so he could live with that. Finn shot him an incredulous look, probably not quite sure if he meant it or not, while Rey slipped her arm around his neck and whispered in his ear a low “How sweet of you to say.”

It was the moment the museum's loudspeaker chose to blare that _all visitors should walk towards the exit_ , given that it was nearly closing hour. Poe was glad for the distraction.

When they got out of the museum, they decided it was time to head back to the campus. Their car was parked two miles from here, but they were reluctant to take the bus or the subway. They decided on a whim to jog on the way back. They got tired after the first mile, and ended up buying bottles of water and walking the rest of the way.

As they finally settled back into the car, Rey curling up by putting her arms around her legs and Finn grabbing the plaid, lying in the truck because for these two, the Chicago air was still a bit chilly, Poe felt something warm spread in his chest.

He would take whatever he could get. It was already more than enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any prompt/idea for this fic – I'm not quite on what Spring is going to look like yet - don't hesitate to share !


	3. Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got to tell you guys  
> I'm super glad that Poe/Finn/Rey is a real trend in the fandom  
> Like I've shipped OT3 for years now, and I always felt a bit – in the margin – for doing so, so I'm glad this pairing exists and is sort of mainstream.
> 
> I also wanted to point out that with this chapter published, this story is officially the longest one I have written in a very very long time – more than two years - , and I'm kinda proud ???
> 
> Anyway, this chapter features : slow on the uptake Poe - more making out – - infamous Frat Boy ! Snoke – and many other things.  
> I hope you will enjoy it !

* * *

 

 _March,_ _5_ _th_

 

 

Hux was zipping his suitcase when he realized something was wrong. Namely, his roommate slumped at his desk, luggages undone, looking like he didn't have a care in the world for the spring break trip they were supposed to get ready for in the next hour or so.

“Why are you not packing?”

Things had been awkward since February and the Phasma thing. Well, more awkward than usual anyway. Kylo had taken on avoiding him rather than confronting him. It was not rare these days for Hux to find their room mostly intact, but empty. His roommate was probably hiding in the library or sulking in the park, but instead of savouring the quietness, Hux had found himself rather bothered by it.

Kylo's cold answer to his enquiry brought him back to the moment.

“I'm not packing because I'm not going on this trip.”

“You're not going?” Hux repeated, feeling a bit slow, but unable to process what he was told. There was simply no universe in which Kylo would turn down such an opportunity. The fraternity had been planning these two days in Mexico since early December.

“No. It's basically two days of partying on the beach, and I hate sand.”

Hux couldn't help but snort. Kylo glared at him.

“What?”

“Nothing. It's just people are usually not that opinionated about sand.”

 _Or at least not to the point where they refuse to go on spring break_ was the part left unsaid.

“Well I am. No need to make a big fuss out of it.”

“Did your great daddy hate the sand too?”

He meant this a joke, because come on, his roommate had a serious worship complex when it came to the guy, but Kylo closed off completely. His voice as he spoke was flat, betraying no emotion,. For the first time in their acquaintances, he had something akin to a pokerface. Hux decided he hated it.

“Actually he did.”

And then Kylo returned his attention back to his textbook, clearly indicating he considered the conversation to be over. Hux was the first surprised by the words which came out of his mouth next.

“You should come.”

Kylo stared at him perplexedly.

“Not sure I understand you Hux. I thought you would be thrilled to get rid of me for two days.”

“I am, but I'm sure Snoke wants us to go together.”

For some reason, the Supreme Leader seemed to like when the two of them were in charge. He probably enjoyed watching them fighting to have scrapes of his attention.

Kylo snorted. “So you're ready to sacrifice yourself to please him?”

“I will do whatever it takes to get in command next year.” he declared firmly. It was as plausible an answer as any. Hux could almost persuade himself it was the reason he was pushing for this, and not because he would not really mind spending more time with his roommate than he had in the past weeks.

“There can't be two fraternity presidents. And even if there were, they would not be both sophomore.” Kylo answered slowly, as if he was surprised by Hux's naïvety. The ginger bit back a rush of anger and shrugged.

“You don't know that. It's worth the hassle.”

Not knowing exactly what he was doing, he sat on his roommate's bed, right next to his office. Their legs were only inches apart, their knees close to touching. Kylo's head instantly snapped in his direction, his stare solely focused on him. Hux let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before speaking.

“You should come.” a pause, then, in a quieter tone “Don't make me beg.”

Kylo's eyes instantly softened. Shit. He had revealed too much, hadn't he.

“Fine. I will go.” Before Hux had the time to answer anything, he added in a severe tone. “You've got to promise me one thing though.”

“Whatever.” Hux shrugged, aiming successfully for nonchalant rather than relieved.

“Don't bury me in the sand.”

Hux rolled his eyes – why on earth would he want to do that -, but held out his hand anyway, as a conciliatory gesture.

“I promise you I won't.”

Kylo hesitated a bit, then took it.

He managed to finish packing in ten minutes, and twenty minutes later, both of them were sat in the bus. When he put his mind into it, Kylo could be surprisingly effective.

 

Hux had expected the ride to Mexico to be to your typical ride-with-bros experience, filled with excited shouts and bottles passing back and forth. Instead, it turned out most of the pledges were rather tired, due to the avalanche of work their teachers had tried to squeeze on before spring break, and had considered this ride as good an opportunity as any to rest before two days of heavy partying. Consequently, half of the car was asleep after only two hours on the road. Snoke and most seniors were still awake though, chatting quietly in the back of the bus. Hux was straining his ear to figure out what what they were plotting, when he realized something was weighing on him. Kylo too had fallen asleep on his shoulder. When his face was not contorted in his scowl of doom, he looked rather handsome Hux thought distractedly before catching himself. That was a dangerous train of thought. Their equilibrium was precarious enough as it was.

After a while, he managed to relax and lied his on head on the window. The gentle snoring of Kylo lulled him to sleep.

 

 

 

For the past months, Poe, Rey and Finn had weighed the pro and cons before settling on staying on campus for the spring break. Most students had planned on leaving, which meant they would have have the college grounds for themselves, and there was always the possibility of going on the coast if they wanted to. They could stay here and still have a nice time, instead of going on a small excursion and wasting the money they had decided to spare for the awesome trip they were planning for July.

 

Which explained why the three of them were currently lying on the grass next to the First Order house, enjoying the last ray of sunshine of the day. Normally, they would have been got rid of the minute they had sat down – this patch of campus was fraternity's property – but every single frat boy had left three hours ago and so they were left in peace. For his part, Poe was quite content to just stay here and relax, playing cards with his two best friends. He couldn't help but notice the way Rey kept stealing glances at the house though.

“Why can't you focus on the game Rey?” Finn grumbled. He had noticed her restlessness too then. She shrugged apologetically.

“Sorry boys. It's just that...aren't you a bit curious? I mean it's the only time in the year we have an opportunity to discover what it's all about.”

Poe frowned. “I'm pretty sure they have not intended us to do the tourists while they were away.”

“And personally I couldn't care less about the fraternity.” Finn answered in an indifferent tone, reporting his attention back to his cards. “I had enough of this in high school.”

The two of them had talked about this at the very beginning of the year, on the day of the first Fraternity gathering. Neither of them had wanted to go, and after Poe had explained he never saw the appeal of this kind of organisation, Finn had mentioned in passing that he had been part of one before and wasn't keen on repeating the experience. His tone had been casual, but Poe had noticed the way his face had closed of a bit. He hadn't pushed.

Back to the present, Rey's head perked up. “You never told us much about your time in your fraternity. Was it that bad?”

Finn shrugged. “Well, there were some upsides. The parties were great, and I made at least one good friend there. But I never enjoyed it as a whole. That feeling you have of being monitored all the time. The way you're pressured to follow the lead and do like everyone else if _y_ ou want to be _part of the group_.”

Rey's face scrunched in distaste. “Put that way, it sure doesn't sound terrible.”

“Maybe the First Order is different, I don't know. But I'm really not interested in figuring it out.”

“I get it.” Rey answered quietly, focusing her attention back on the game. Poe could tell her mind wasn't 100% in it though. He nudged her with his feet.

“You still want to go in, don't you ?”

She made an apologetic face. “I'm sorry. I'm just dying to take a peek in the inside. I totally understand if you don't want to help me though.”

“Let's say a casual breaking and entering is not very high on my to do list.” Finn answered distractedly, sounding eager to drop the subject. Rey was persistent though.

“We don't have to break in, merely find a way to observe from the outside.”

Poe couldn’t help but glance at the building at that.

“Aren't the windows enough for you?”

“Lower ones are shut down. That means I need get access to the upper floor ones.”

“There is ivy crawling at the back. Maybe that would do.” Poe offered without thinking.

Finn turned to take a look at the building and snorted.

“Ivy is certainly not the way to go. Someone who gives you a leg up might do the trick though.”

 

And that's how they all ended up circling the building, trying to figure out the easier access points. Finn, who had let himself get caught in the general excitement went for the south side, claiming he had spotted a good ledge. Poe watched him walk away, enjoying despite himself the relaxed stance of his best friend, the carefree expression the spring break had brought up in him.

He turned, only to realize Rey had noticed him staring. “You love him don't you.”

It was a statement, not a question, and Poe couldn't help but clench his teeth. He knew it wasn't in Rey to be cruel on purpose, but why on earth would she tell him such a thing? Everybody had noticed the way Finn observed her, all quiet wonder and admiration. She had to know.

“What good would it make if I did?” he observed quietly. He didn't want to end his sentence by stating the obvious _he is already into you_ part.

“I think you should tell him. His answer may surprise you.”

What kind of game was she playing? Poe could have understood it as some twisted way to divert Finn's attention away from her, but it was obvious she was far from being indifferent either. He didn't tell her that – it would have sounded like he was attacking her and that was the last thing he wanted. He shrugged instead.

“I'm not ready to bet our friendship on this Rey. Especially given we're roommates.”

She scoffed.

“Even if he did turn you down, do you really think he would give you the cold shower?”

“Maybe not voluntarily, but it's gonna necessarily going to be awkward if he is not interested. It always is. All the more since the two of you, are, well, what you are.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“I'm not going to spell it out to you.”

“I swear to god Poe, sometimes you can be as oblivious as he is.”

Finn's voice resounded from the other side, enticing them to come and take a look. Rey disappeared in the second, all grace and fluidity as ever. Maybe Poe should tell her that if she brought up the subject again– that there were times he was admiring her features too, wondering what it would be like to kiss her and then Finn in the next breath. Maybe _that_ would take her aback.

 

 

 

_April, 20 th _

 

 

The day Kylo met Rey was a fairly-normal-no-drama-yet kind of day. It was ruined the moment he laid his eyes on the girl as he and Hux were walking back to their dorms after a fraternity reunion. The way he suddenly tensed as he spotted her didn't announce anything good, but what definitely set the match was when _she_ took notice of him and began to wave and call him by his name – his actual given name. There was no way this could end well.

“Ben!” she repeated, her grin far too bright, as she stepped closer, having took notice of the way Kylo was frozen on the spot.

“People don't call me that any more.” he eventually answered in a grim voice.

Rey looked surprised, but she quickly recovered herself. “How do they call you, then?”

“Kylo. Kylo Ren”

Hux rolled his eyes. It was the second time he heard that speech, and it was still every bit as ridiculous. At least he didn't go present himself as _Sith Lord_. Rey didn't comment though.

“I can't believe it's been years since we last met. Your parents are doing alright, I hope?”

She knew Kylo from before then. Hux's mind wandered back to the Leia and Han he had met on the campus on the first day. The quick impression he had got from them sure did not justify the excitement in Rey's voice. She had probably been very close to the family.

Back to the present, his roommate gritted a “They're fine.” behind his teeth, which did nothing to dampen Rey's enthusiasm.

“It would be so great to see them again. I can't believe you study here too! It's shame I haven't noticed it before. We should definitively hang out sometimes...”

Her voice trailed down a bit as she finally paid attention to the angry stance of Kylo, the way he was avoiding her eyes. Her expression scrunched up in sympathy, and Hux could tell she was going to ask _What's wrong_ _?_ or something equally as absurd for anyone used to Kylo's antics. His roommate cut her before she could utter the words though.

“I'm afraid it's not going to be possible”

And the next second he was gone, probably fleeing to their room . Hux ended up alone with Rey, a tense silence between the two of them.

“He has his phases.” he told her in a casual tone, omitting to add but _this wa_ _s_ _weird nevertheless_. Rey didn't look like she was listening to him anyway – she was staring at a point over his shoulder, probably in the direction Kylo had chosen to disappear. Hux took it as his cue to leave. After all, it wasn't like the emotional turmoil of the likely girlfriend of his occasional driver's best friend ranked high on his list of priorities.

 

When Hux came back to their dorms, the damage was already done. Kylo's side of the room was already completely trashed – torn book copies, desk thrown apart – and from the look of, its side of the room was next. Of all Kylo previous _crisis_ , for lack of a better word, it was by far the worse.

“What is that?”

“Go away.” his roommate mumbled, his words muffled by the pillow he was lying on. Hux rolled his eyes. He was tired of letting this slide – Kylo was in for a lecture this time, whether he wanted it or not.

“You should stop doing that you know. You're not a child any more, you're not supposed to throw big tantrum and leave others cleaning out your mess.”

He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he was expecting to be honest, but the sound of ragged breathing caught him aback. Feeling his anger deflate, he sat cautiously on the bed next to his roommate, his hand hovering next to his shoulder, aware he was threading on a dangerous line.

“Kylo, speak to me. Who is Rey to you?”

“Don't.”

“Don't what?”

Kylo finally rose his head from his pillow. His answer was a snarl.

“Act like you care. Like I'm worth something to you.”

And where the heck was that coming from, Hux had no idea. His incomprehension must have shown on his face because his roommate scoffed. It was a bitter sound.

“ _Please_. That's what you always do. You let your guards down for a moment, let me get close, and then act like nothing happened.”

“Like you don't do the same exactly!”

“And why do you think is that? My emotions are written all over my face. I can't hide what I feel to save my life. You of all people know it. I'm aware it's a weakness. I can't let this get any worse.”

“Do you sincerely think sulking instead of confronting me is going to do the trick?”

“You wouldn't like the confrontation.” Kylo mumbled, sounding like he wished more than anything else to drop the subject. Hux wasn't planning on giving him the opportunity though.

“I'm pretty sure I could handle it.”

Kylo gripped forcefully his hand at that, staring at him intensely with an expression Hux could not name.

“You don't know what I want.” he whispered - and this, this was insecurity in his gaze Hux realized. He pressed Kylo's hand back.

“Tell me then.”

His own voice faltered only slightly.

Once again, his roommate was the one to take the risk and close the distance between them, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. Hux immediately kissed him back, gripping Kylo's hair so he would not intend to leave.

Pretty soon, the both of them ended up collapsed on Kylo's bed, their limbs intertwined, their mouth endlessly capturing each other. Unlike that time at that frat party, it was neither hurried nor desperate, but rather slow and content. More importantly, alcohol had no say in the matter.

At some point, Kylo went for his neck, mouthing at a spot so far up it would be probably be impossible for Hux to hide. Possessive then. Hux couldn't say he was very surprised. He gripped Kylo forearms, hard enough to bruise. Two could play at this game. And if the noises he produced were a bit undignified, well it was no one's business but his own. And Kylo's, obviously, but his roommate was hardly one to speak.

When he finally let go of his neck, Kylo buried his face in his chest, tangling their legs together.

“Don't leave.” he whispered.

“I won't.” Hux mumbled, pressing a light kiss on his roommate's temple. and it wasn't a lie. All things considered, it felt like the logical conclusions of this past six months. And now that they had finally managed to reach it, he wasn't eager to screw it over.

 

 

 

Poe and Finn were on their way to Snoke's last football game of the season when they spotted Rey waving Kylo Ren over. The plan was to meet her on the stadium, but they had run late, which was the reason why they ended up watching the scene from afar. By the time they arrived, the conversation was over and Kylo and his ginger roommate gone, leaving a distressed Rey in their wake. The only words they had caught had been a mumbled “He has his phases” from Hux, which, as far as they were concerned, was old news, and certainly did not provide an explanation for Rey's hollow stare.

“How come talking with Kylo had such an effect on you ?” Finn asked her brusquely, probably deciding it was best to cut to the chase. Rey jumped a bit, startled by the sudden appearance, which was worrying in itself. They never managed to sneak on her.

“You know him then?”

Her tone was both hopeful and hesitant. Finn shot Poe a disbelieving glance, clearly as at loss as him, before answering. “A bit yeah, given he lives with Hux right next to our door. Can't say we've talked to him much though. He is a bit – well, you've seen for yourself.”

“And he really calls himself Kylo?”

“That's how he introduces himself anyway. And I've never heard anyone calling him otherwise. Why?”

“I knew him as Ben.” Rey muttered, her expression still a bit vacant. Poe didn't like seeing her like that. Neither did Finn, if the way he laid a gentle hand on her should was anything to go by. It seemed to shake her out out her thoughts – she turned the other way around and declared casually.

“It doesn't matter. We're going to be late to the game.”

And then she walked away, to the stadium. They stared at each other for a bit, confused, before following her, because it was the only thing they could do at the moment

 

Later on, at the half-time, after Snap had come quickly by to ask them if he had been any good, before leaving in order to find Jessika, and as Finn had gone to buy them drinks, Poe couldn't help but bring up the subject again.

“It's probably none of our business, but what was that earlier? Did Kylo say anything hurtful to you ?”

“Will you go after him if he did?”

Her tone was just the slightest ironical, and it reassured Poe, a bit.

“Nobody will ever find his body.” he promised in a grim tone. She burst out laughing at that. When she caught her breath enough to answer, her expression was nowhere as guarded. “It's not much. It's just – I knew him when I was a kid. We kind of grew up together actually. My first foster family was right next to his and his parents' house. We used to spend a lot of time together, playing at dumb stuff. I was quite close to his parents too. They didn't mind having me over all the time.”

“What happened then?”

“My foster family had some monetary problems when I was eleven. I was transferred too another one. Practically had to move to the other side of the state. Ben and his parents sent me letters at first, asking if I was alright, proposing me to come back for the holidays. I couldn't make it though, and well, you know as it is, we drifted apart. I think it's been four years of something since I last got news from them.” she paused a bit before adding in a strained voice “You probably think it's stupid of me to be pissed. People are allowed to forget their childhood friends. Except I _know_ he recognized me. He pretended like he didn't care one bit and then stormed away. Like he was angry or something. I have not done anything for fuck' sake. Merely told him it would be nice to see his parents again.”

“He probably doesn't go along with them well.” Poe offered casually. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, as I've told, I don't really know the guy. But he chooses to go by a different name than the one his parents gave him. Sounds to me like the kind of thing you would do if you wanted to take your distances.”

Her shoulder slumped a bit a that, and when she spoke again, her tone was resigned. “God, you must be right. What an idiot I am.”

“No need to blame yourself. You spoke with him for what, ten seconds? That didn't give you much to go with.” Poe answered softly, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. Rey wasn't usually one to crave physical contact, but there were some rare occasions on which she liked to get close to him or Finn.

“Are you going to talk to him again?” he asked after a minute of comfortable silence. He felt her shrugging.

“I think I'm going to let it lie for a while. I'm not done with this though.”

From where they were sat, they could see Finn coming back from the drink booth, waving three bottles.

“He doesn't know, does he?” Poe asked, gesturing slightly in his direction. Rey shook her head.

“Not really no. Well, he knows the reason I ended up moving next to him when I was younger, but that's about it. I plan to l tell him though.”

When Finn arrived, he threw them the bottles and then slumped on his seat, looking harassed.

“I felt like I had to fight with half the campus back there, you had no idea.” he paused before squinting at them, probably noticing they were quieter than usual. “What were you talking about?”

Rey didn't look like she was ready to launch in another explanation right know, so Poe answered in a teasing tone “Merely wondering why you were so long.”, which earned him a smack from Finn.

“Next time, you'll be getting your own drink.” he mumbled grumpily, and Poe let out a chuckle. Rey grinned too, and that felt good.

The game started again, and Poe couldn't help but think how he had always known Rey's childhood had been anything but easy, and how the same went for Finn, buthad not been given much to go with, given they wouldn't usually talk to him about it. There were times he felt a bit on the side, knowing he and his perfect family background didn't sit right in and he couldn't blame them for not bringing up the topic when he was here, but still, it felt nice when either of them opened up to him. Especially when he had the sensation him listening helped just the tiniest bit.

He didn't realize until the very end of the game that Rey's head had never left his shoulder. He thought nothing of it.

 

 

 

_May 25 th_

 

 

At the end of may, Hux and Kylo found themselves in the most guarded part of the Fraternity's house – Snoke's office.

It was the first time the two of them met their Supreme Leader alone. Snoke had an angular face, with very mobile eyes. He would have been not really remarkable, had it not been for the multiple mark of stitches on his forehead and cheeks, invisible at fist sight, but which glistened a bit in the front light. At first sight, you would not have been pegged him for the Supreme Leader of a college fraternity. But then you noticed the sheer power held in in his stare, saw him manage to submit a whole room into listening to him, and realized _right, he is the_ _one_.

For the past five minutes, Snoke had been staring at them without saying a word, and the silence was getting awkward. Hux was wondering whether he should say something when the Supreme Leader finally spoke.

“So it looks like the First Order is getting its first power couple.”

Hux instantly froze, not sure what he was supposed to do – deny or roll with it. He wasn't even aware people within the fraternity had taken notice of the change in his and Kylo's relationship. Snoke shot him at chiding look.

“Don't look at me like that. You know there have been bets on you two since day one.”

Right. This meeting was definitely _not_ what Hux had expected coming there. Worse was, this wasn't even the most embarrassing reaction he and Kylo had faced. That had been taken care of when Phasma had found out they were dating. She had _whooped_ them for the love of god, and in the next breath, threatened Kylo of very bad things if he ever hurt Hux.

“So, this is not a problem, right?” he asked in an even tone once he had recovered from his initial surprise. Snoke's eyes instantly zeroed on him.

“Why, would you break up if it was?”

 _Of course_ was the obvious, logical response, yet Hux couldn't get the words out of his mouth. At the moment, as he was standing at Kylo's side, able to tell why his hair were not combed as usual and why he looked like he had no got a good night sleep, it didn't sound like the right answer. He glanced at Kylo – his roommate was looking like a dear caught in the headlights.

Snoke laughed out loud, startling the both of them.

“No need to torture yourself, we don't care about this sort of thing. Last I checked, we were a fraternity, not monks.” he chuckled again.. For some reason, this seemed to amuse him a great deal. “Anyway, you're not here to hear me chide over your relationship. I want to make an offer to you.” he paused for the sake of drama before declaring solemnly. “We've considered you worthy to take over presidency next year.”

It almost sounded too good to be true. Sure, Hux had been hoping these past weeks that was where they were heading, but to hear it was another thing entirely.

“Both of us?” Kylo asked. He looked like he couldn't quite believe his luck either. Snoke nodded.

“Yes. It's a deal breaker actually. We have deemed you were presidency material, but only as a team. You balance each other out. Do you think you will be able to make it work?”

They were both eager to assert that yes, they definitively would. Snoke smirked.

“Right. Good then. Obviously, there will be seniors to assist you in the coming months. But officially you will the ones fully in charge the moment I graduate. I do not think I need to tell you what kind of honour this is”

Hux bowed a little at that. As archaic as it looked, it was the official way to pay your respect in the First Order code. Kylo mimicked him.

“Perfect. I think I've seen you enough for the afternoon boys.” Snoke declared in an even tone as they both rose their heads. They took this as their cue to leave the room.

 

As they walked back the stairs, Hux couldn't help but notice many pledges and members were checking them from where they were seating downstairs. Probably waiting for an official confirmation of what they had already guessed.

“Are we supposed to make a big announcement do you think?” he whispered in his soon to be vice-president ear, pleased as always to see the flush on his cheeks. Kylo shrugged. “Not sure. Do what you think it's best.”

Kylo was not one to speak to the crowd, Hux knew that. As chiding and biting his orders and directive could be, he was not confident in his skill to address to the masses. Just as he was the one to initiate most of their physical contact, yet still looked as if he was afraid to be rejected.

Hux suddenly made up his mind. He caught Kylo by his shirt, making the two of them stand on the same stair. Then he leaned in and kissed him chastely. Well. As chastely as he was able to anyway.

When Hux stepped back, he knew instantly all eyes were zeroed them. It was quite hard to focus on anything else than Kylo's bewildered expression though.

The ginger smiled and linked their hand together, before turning in order to face their audience.

“Kylo and I are pleased to announce you we will be your presidents for the coming year. We hope we will live up to your expectations.”

Several rose their beers at that, and Hux felt pleased beyond measure. Kylo was still at his side, his hand warm in his.

They were going to be awesome at this.

 

 

 

On this fine May evening, Poe had come to regret mournfully all the jokes he and Snap used to make about what Hux and Kylo were up too in their damn room of theirs. Now that he was able to hear what kinky sex truly sounded like behind their paper-thin shared wall, he could tell this was definitely what they were doing before. This had gone on for the past month or so, and as far as Poe was concerned, the loud screeching and moans weren't something you could get used to easily. With a groan, he decided to seek asylum in his safest option – Rey's and Jessikas's room. The two of them had made an agreement, which settled that Jess was forbid to bring Snap in during the week, except on Friday night. It was Thursday, so he should be good. Plus he had not seen Finn at all afternoon, and given that his roommate was not one to stay cramming in the library, the odds of finding him with Rey were very high.

As he knocked at Rey's door, he couldn't help but hear the faint sound of _King of Pain_ , and he grinned despite himself. _The Police_ Best Off had been the very first vinyl Finn had bought after Poe had offered him the reader. Come to think of it, that explained why he had been unable to find the device sooner that day, as he was looking desperately for any sound that would prevent him from hearing Hux's grunts of appreciation.

He didn't bother to wait for an invite to go in, because why would he? He and Finn barged in this room all the time. Sometimes they didn't even knock beforehand.

He realized that it was a mistake the second he stepped onto the threshold. Rey and Finn were on the floor, their legs intertwined together, Finn leaning on as if to kiss her on the cheek. Poe let out the handle immediately, as if it had burned him. The sound it produced startled the both of them, who jumped apart from each other at once. Poe was having none of that though.

“Sorry to interrupt. I will come back later.”

Rey stood and caught in by the arm before he had the time to turn around and walk way.

“Please Poe, stay. It's not what you think.”

“Rey, it's fine. You're allowed to do whatever you want. I should not have barged in here unannounced.”

“We were not doing anything.” Finn answered in a weak tone. He sounded unconvinced himself. Poe couldn't help but scoff. He hated how bitter it sounded.

“Why are you acting like you've something to blame yourself? I don't mind if you two date.”

 _A_ _little_ _heads-up would have been nice_ he thought distractedly, but he had no right to tell them that. For all he knew, it was the first time it had happened – they were not supposed to give him a week notice before getting up to sexy shenanigans.

“We are not dating.” Rey denied, her cheeks still a bit flushed, before adding in a softer voice. “Not yet anyway.”

“You could have fooled me, what with the way the two of here were basically in each other's lap.”

“We're still figuring things out.” Finn interjected, and that got the best out of Poe. His voice rose up in anger as he cut his best friend. “For god's sake, you know the basic logistic are fairly simple, right? What would you possibly need to figure out?”

He knew he was being a pushover, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. Watching the two of them dancing around each other was becoming more unbearable by the week, and if he had any say in that, he wasn't going to suffer another hour of this. The least they could do was to be honest with him. He was at this point in his train of thoughts when Finn suddenly leaned in and kissed him.

Finn. Kissing. Him.

A mix of _my god this is_ _finally_ _happening_ and _what the hell_ played loudly in Poe's head. Mostly though, he was to busy enjoying the feel of Finn's lips against his, the quiet relieved sight his roommate produced when he was given access to his mouth, the gentle grip of Finn's finger on his hair.

The most surprising thing of all that though, was when they finally broke apart from each other, only for Poe to realize Rey had been staring at them the whole time, with an appraising look. Maybe a tiny bit aroused too, if the way she was biting his lip was anything to go by.

_Wait._

“Finally caught up, have you?” she asked teasingly, brushing his hair and in the meantime reaching for Finn's hand, and it seemed like this was really where they were heading. Poe had to admit he had not seen at all coming. Maybe he was a bit slow on the uptake – but really how could he have known that his best two friends were planning on having a go at each other, but with him as well?

He was still bewildered by it all as Rey proceeded to take him out of his shirt and Finn was busy unfastening his belt.

 _Wrapped around your finger_ was now playing in the background and Poe wondered idly when his life had become a caricature of NC-17 college movie. The thought froze him instantly.

“Is this like a college experiment to you? A _check, threesome off the list_ kind of thing?” he asked, unable to keep the worry out of his voice.

Finn shook his head, looking disappointed. “Do you really think we would have mulled over a threesome for months?”

“It's not a one night-stand or anything like that Poe. We want to be with you.”

That was Rey speaking – her voice was firm and unwavering, although her hands were still gripping his shirt like a lifeline, and right at that moment, Poe was unable to believe she was anything but sincere.

“I want that too.” he whispered back, raising her hand so he could kiss her knuckles briefly.

Her breath hitched the slightest bit, and then Finn lips were on his neck, and, well.

If that was where they were heading to the whole time, every second of excruciating wait had been worth it.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Deutschland 83, I can't seem to keep the concept of make out sessions with The Police playing in the background out of my head, sorryyyy. You should all watch this show though.
> 
>  
> 
> There will be an epilogue alright –it is going to be short though, like 2000 words at best.  
> good news is, it means that it should be posted quickly !  
> I want to end this before my finals anyway (urgh) so yeah, next week at worst.
> 
> Thank you folks for your kudos & comments, I love y'all :)


	4. Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue, finally...sorry for the delay folks !  
> I seriously think this is the fluffiest thing I've ever written, like ever.
> 
> I would like to thank the amazing [JuniorWoffles](http://archiveofourown.org/users/JuniorWoofles/pseuds/JuniorWoofles) who beta'ed this chapter.

* * *

_June 28 th_

 

The dried grass was tickling his ankle uncomfortably and the sun was glaring, even behind the shade of his sunglasses, but Poe had rarely felt more at ease than right then. He was walking to the landing field along with Finn and Rey; both traipsing along enthusiastically. They were not really holding hands or anything, but every now and yet, their hands or their shoulders would brush and Poe would grin despite himself. He couldn't quite believe how easily the whole imbroglio had been resolved. After all these months of tension and tip toeing around the obvious, they had settled without any effort into this new more-than-friends relationship. Had he known earlier, he probably would have acted on this before.

“If you keep on day-dreaming, you're going to miss your flight.” Rey suddenly teased him, pressing her palm on the small of his back.

“For all you know, I could have been pondering on serious stuff,” he answered in his best formal voice. She chuckled and smacked him lightly

“Your beatific smile tells me otherwise.”

“I'm just glad I'm getting to fly today, that's all.”

Poe made a point of not repeating every two days how fortunate he was. He was afraid it would prove tiresome for his best friends slash boyfriend and girlfriend. As he ended his sentence, the plane came in sight and Finn let out an enthusiastic _whoop_. The next thing Poe knew, Finn had slung his arm over his neck.

“And we're super glad we got to see get some action buddy. I bet I'll make it to the plane before you do though.”

Poe smiled sharply as he shrugged him off. “You’re on”

The three of them raced to the small aircraft, and if the man in charge – a man of about fifty, with a beard and a tired expression - looked a little surprised to see them sprinting until they collapsed next to him, he didn't say anything; save for an offhand “I think your girl is the quickest here,” so low Poe wasn't sure he heard it right.

“I'm Luke Skywalker, I will be your pilot for this flight. Which one of you is the lucky fellow who gets to fly?” he asked in a polite tone, gauging them quickly. Poe immediately offered his hand.

“I am. These two offered me the lesson.”

“Good friends.” Luke nodded appreciatively.

They were indeed. To the point that both of them had decided to delay their departure from campus by one day; merely to accompany him here and be there as he enjoyed their gift.

“Best I could have,” he answered enthusiastically, glancing at the small plane as he did so. “Am I allowed to take a seat?”

Luke smiled, opening the plane's door for him.

“If you're that eager to start, I don't see why not. Jump in; I'll brief you on the safety instructions before we take off.”

As he sat on a leather chair so hot you could have cooked eggs, Poe thrummed his fingers excitedly on his knees. From where we was, he could hear snippets of the conversation outside – Luke explaining briefly to Finn and Rey where they were going to fly. His two best friends looked just as thrilled as he was, the both of them gesturing with their hands and speaking at the same time.

Poe knew he was grinning like a dope again, but, to be honest, he had probably never been more entitled to do so.

 

 

The summer heat was insufferable. The air conditioning had been working on and off for the past week, and Hux had to admit he couldn't wait to leave the place, even if it meant being stuffed in a tiny passenger compartment in Kylo's car. Surprising as it might be, his roommate had been the one to buy a car in the end. His first motivation had probably been to get a means to escape his parents during summer, but it also meant the two of them could travel together more easily.

Given that the mere thought of moving around made him sweaty, the ginger was currently moving around on his bed, hoping to find one last cool spot on his sheets. Unfortunately, he had no such luck. In a whim, he chunked his pillow on Kylo, still focused on his suitcase.

“Are you done packing yet?”

His roommate threw him back the pillow without bothering to glance at him.

“I am sure you can wait five more minutes.” he grumbled, stuffing his socks so they would go in. “I had no idea summer took such a toll on you.”

“I'm going to be nicer once we've left this campus for good.” Hux promised him, burying his head on his pillow. “I just can't wait to feel officially on vacation.”

The term had ended two days ago, and neither of them had planned on going to their parents’ just yet. Instead, they were to go a small retreat with the former head of the Fraternity, Snoke, and his close knit group of seconds, to be briefed on the year to come. From what Hux had understood, it mainly consisted of margaritas with prep talk once a day. Given that they wouldn't have the opportunity to come back to the campus after meant they had to pack all of their things now. Which was exactly what they had been doing for the past twenty four hours or so, and at this point Hux was just fed up. This explained the frankly embarrassing excited noise he made when Kylo finally zipped his suitcase. He sprung out immediately out of his bed. The sudden movement made him dizzy though, so he stayed still for ten seconds. He shook out of his daze soon enough to catch the sneakers Kylo threw at him.

“If you're that eager, you might as well start moving our stuff into my car.”

Hux mock saluted, and the next second he was out of their room, lugging three boxes down the stairs. Kylo, with those long legs of his, managed to catch up with him on the way, carrying both his and Hux's suitcase.

As they went back to their room to move luggage for the umpteenth time, Kylo gestured at their neighbour's seemingly deserted room; if the slightly ajar door and the lack of noise were anything to go by.

“I'm sure you're disappointed not to be ride back with Poe this time.”

Hux chuckled. “Devastated. Although to be honest he probably doesn't have any place in this car anyway. ”

“Not if he wants to bring his two better thirds with him, he doesn't.” Kylo answered half-mindedly.

He and Hux - and probably at least half the campus by now- knew that Poe was dating Finn and Rey. Hux was positive the three of them thought they were being discreet, but honestly somebody should have told them by now that avoiding the most blatant display of affection in public was not enough to not be spotted. For him to have picked up on it without being told by Phasma meant they were all kind of obvious.

“Speaking of them, I noticed Rey smiled to you the last time she passed by Finn and Poe's room. Are the two of you chummy again?”

Kylo shrugged, with the embarrassment clear on his face.

“I may or may not have given her my parent's address. I figured that if she is fool enough to have delusions about my dear parents then I would not be the one to dash her hopes.”

“So what, you marched up to her and gave her a visit card or something?” Somehow, he didn't see that happening. Kylo snorted.

“No. I sent her an anonymous email. I didn't bother to hide my IP though, so she must have figured it out.”

It was common knowledge that Rey was good with computers. Kylo had probably been aware of that when he had sent the email- he wanted to be found out, then. The whole thing was both incredibly ludicrous and mature. Kylo probably would have enjoyed him telling that much though, and to be honest Hux was already glad he didn't have coax the story out of him. He went back to the filling the truck without further comment. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Kylo was relieved he didn't push. Hux was definitely getting better at this.

As the last box was in and they finally were able to close the truck, he and Kylo looked at each giddily. That was it. They were ready to leave on holidays.

“We're good to go. _._ ” Hux whispered, resting his forehead against his boyfriend's. At this moment, he couldn't care less about the heat.

“I think we are, yes.” Kylo answered, voice equally as low. The end of his sentence got lost in the press of his lips against Hux's.

Summer was going to be great.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luke seriously barged out of nowhere. I needed to describe the pilot, and here he went !  
> So everyone in the original trio is in this fic...
> 
> Thank you everyone for your comments/kudos, it really helped me going :) This has been a great ride all along !

**Author's Note:**

> Next update should be in two weeks or so. Remember that kudos & reviews are love :)


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